Friday, October 7, 2011

{31 Days} Stocking your pantry: Vinegars

Thanks for all of your awesome feedback and comments on yesterday’s post about lipids and wines! I learned quite a bit about cooking wine vs. drinking wine, and found that many of you use drinking wine for your cooking! Duel purpose wine – I like that. We might have to try some of our coveted Michigan Cherry Wine in our favorite minestrone this fall. Yum Yum.

Today, we’re continuing to stock our pantry by talking vinegars.

Why vinegar?

First, vinegar is an acid, which reacts nicely to activate our baking leavening ingredients like baking soda. The ins and outs of that reaction were discussed on Day 4 right here.

Second, vinegar acts as an excellent meat tenderizer. Marinade that beef or pork roast with white or cider vinegar and you have one tender piece of meat. We love using cider vinegar for autumn pork roasts – it has a similar result as tenderizing using soda pop.

Third, white vinegar mixed with water makes an excellent wash for fresh produce! Kills bacteria and other microbes present on fruits and veggies. 2 T vinegar + 2 C of water is a good ratio for this produce wash.

The list goes on and on and vinegars uses extend even beyond the kitchen. Check out the Vinegar Institute’s list for “Versatile Vinegar” uses.

kinds of vinegar to have on hand

White Vinegar {Distilled Vinegar}

Great for adding that little something special to apple pie crusts. A distinct vinegar tang, works great for pickling – either sweet or dill!

Cider Vinegar

Produced from a fermentation process using apples as the substrate, cider vinegar is a milder, sweet yet tangy vinegar. We enjoy using this one as a meat tenderizer in recipes like our crockpot autumn pork roast.

Balsamic Vinegar

This vinegar has a unique flavor to it – resulting from the white grape that is used in the fermentation process. Balsamic vinegar is gaining popularity and is delicious as a chicken marinade as well as a vegetable sauté dressing. We love it in our cherry balsamic chicken skillet or simple balsamic chicken and rice.

I clump Worcestershire Sauce into this mix as well because it is also a fermented cooking liquid & functionally, it has similar properties as vinegar. It makes a great marinade, can be tossed into many homemade condiments, burgers, sloppy joes, beef pies, etc., and is essential in making chex mix!

I've been wanting to try Balsamic Vinegar for awhile, but it's pretty expensive in my area, so I've been leery of trying it and not liking it. Thanks for letting me know more about it, so I can go ahead and buy it.

I have...so much vinegar in my pantry that it's insane. But I always feel that as long as I have a good sweet balsamic, I can make a meal somehow. Even if it's a just a grain or some veggies tossed with it!

When cooking, please make sure to follow kitchen hygiene and safety -- cook meat until internal temperature is at safe levels, always check labels for allergens, and use caution in the kitchen -- I love sharing recipes, but I am not liable for damages done as a result of trying these recipes.